Universal accessory for enhancing floor cleaning and hair trapping for a plurality of vacuum devices

ABSTRACT

A universal accessory for a plurality of vacuums comprises a hair trapping device, a square frame of telescoping tubes attaching to the vacuum, and a floor cleaning device. The universal accessory can be used to trap hair to prevent hair trapping in the vacuum brush roller. The universal accessory can also be used to enhance floor cleaning by picking up dirt that the vacuum has not picked up.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to cleaning, and more particularly to vacuum cleaners and mops

BACKGROUND ART

Patent Number Kind Code Issue Date Patentee KR101805135 B1 Apr. 3, 2004

US4833752 A Aug. 8, 1988 John T. Merrick KR20150038391 A Apr. 8, 2015

US5063635 A May 8, 1989 Mitsuo Ishii Yoshitaka Murata JPH0928638 A Feb. 4, 1997 Eisaku Ohara 

 

EP2861119 B1 Jun. 15, 2012 Glenn Allen Bradbury Brent Michael WILLEY US8117713 B2 Sept. 23, 2005 Gary A. Kasper Allen W. Scott Jose Carlito Santiago US8448293 B2 Sept. 29, 2003 Arnie Sepke

It is known in the prior art that vacuums are used to clean hard floors for large dust particles and visible dirt. Fine dust is cleaned by mops with simple designs or more mechanical ones as commonly assigned KR101805135B1. Vacuums have been modified to include mop-like functionality such as a mop head combined with a vacuum as commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,752A and/or commonly assigned JPH0928638A. Other vacuums have also used a cleaning solution for fine dust as commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,713B2. These vacuums are known as wet/dry vacuum cleaners. I have found that users complain about streaks left by wet vacuum cleaners with mop brooms attached to the main nozzle if the floor is not cleaned frequently as wet dirty solution stays attached to the mop despite a recovery system to absorb dirty solution into a fixed container as commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,448,293B2.

Mops have tried to overcome the difficulty of cleaning large chunks of dirt on floors using mechanical components such as a beater bar as commonly assigned EP2861119B1 or a broom and a dust pan is used.

I have found users of existing vacuums with no fine dust cleaning modifications use additional floor tools such as a mop to pick up fine dust. A sponge or a rag mop is also used with a cleaning solution to pick up fine dust. In other words, the user cleans the same floor twice. I have also found that there is no universal floor cleaning accessory that can be used with multiple vacuums in the market as an attachment accessory. I have also found there is no floor cleaning tool accessory specific to a vacuum that can be automatically carried by the vacuum while its functionality is being carried out unless the mop-like and/or fine dust cleaning functionality is built into the main vacuum nozzle as previously mentioned.

I have also found that long hair gets trapped in vacuum rollers and the user has to manually remove the hair by cutting it with a sharp object. This results in loss of time and hindrance to cleaning the floors.

ADVANTAGES

Thus some embodiments include reusable microfiber mop pads on a mop to enhance floor cleaning functionality for fine dust. Some embodiments include the ability to remove and reattach new mop pads to avoid dirt streaks on the floor. Some embodiments include connectors to attach to existing vacuums to allow being carried by vacuum while helping with floor cleaning. Some other embodiments include a front hair brush that traps long hair to prevent vacuum roller hair entanglement. These and other benefits will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.

A SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS

According to one embodiment of a universal floor accessory that is attachable to a plurality of vacuums, it comprises a hair trapping device in the front of the vacuum nozzle and floor cleaning device in the back of the vacuum nozzle. The front hair trapping device is used for trapping hair and preventing vacuum roller hair entanglement, and the back floor cleaning device is used to enhance floor cleaning by picking up fine dust. Both devices are connected to vacuum via telescoping tubes. The embodiment further comprises two cone shaped devices that attach to telescoping tubes using threaded knobs. The bottom of the cone shaped devices are attached to the plastic roof of the vacuum nozzle using adhesive tape or chemicals. During cleaning, the front hair trapping device and the back floor cleaning device is carried by the vacuum. The front hair trapping device covers the floor first and filters any long hair to prevent hair entanglement of the vacuum roller using bristles and electrostatic forces of silicone material. The existing vacuum nozzle suctions any large dust particles and finally the back floor cleaning device picks up any fine dust leftover from the vacuum nozzle. Some of the ends of the telescoping tubes include a universal joint mechanism with knob locks to allow for different angles. These angles can be used to lift the front hair trapping device and/or the back floor cleaning device when they are not needed by the user.

In accordance with another embodiment of a universal floor accessory includes a front hair trapping device and connected to a plurality of vacuum devices. The hair trapping device is connected via telescoping tubes. The embodiment further comprises a handle clip that snaps on the handle of the said vacuum devices and the other end connects with telescoping tubes in a free moving joint mechanism. During cleaning, the front hair trapping device is carried by the vacuum. The front hair trapping device covers the floor first and filters any long hair to prevent hair entanglement of the vacuum roller. The existing vacuum nozzle suctions any large dust particles. Some of the ends of the telescoping tubes include a universal joint mechanism with knob locks to allow for different angles. These angles can be used to lift the front hair trapping device when it is not needed by the user.

In accordance with another embodiment of a universal floor accessory includes a back floor cleaning device and is connected to a plurality of vacuum devices. The floor cleaning device is connected via telescoping tubes. The embodiment further comprises a handle clip that snaps on the handle of the said vacuum devices and the other end connects with telescoping tubes in a free moving joint mechanism. Some of the ends of the telescoping tubes include a universal joint mechanism with threaded knob locks to allow for different angles. During cleaning, the said vacuum devices pick up large dust particles and the back cleaning device picks up fine dust while being carried by the vacuum. The back floor cleaning device wherein includes a motorized roller brush with a cleaning solution dispensing system and a recovery system for collecting dirty water. The recovery system includes a suction nozzle connected to a conduit that connects to an air-water collecting tank. When the dirt-laden water and air are sucked into the air-water collecting tank, the dirty water is collected in the bottom using gravity and the air is filtered out using exhaust opening in the top. The suction is driven by a vacuum fan motor on the top. The air-water collecting tank can further be emptied once full.

The dispensing system is a spray on the roller brush to wet the brush and to pick up fine dust intermixed with the solution. The spray is connected to a cleaning solution container and dispensed under negative pressure as a mist.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the universal accessory.

FIG. 1B is an upside down front view of the universal accessory

FIG. 1C is a bottom view of the universal accessory.

FIG. 1D is a side view of the universal accessory.

FIG. 1E is another perspective view of the universal accessory.

FIG. 1F is another side view of the universal accessory.

FIG. 1G is a top view of the universal accessory.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the universal accessory attached to a vacuum when used for floor cleaning and hair trapping

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyright or mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.

Referring now to the drawings in particularly FIG. 1A, a square frame is formed to wrap around a vacuum. The square frame comprises telescoping tubes 112, 116, 134, 104. The telescoping tubes are adjustable in size using button spring locks. The telescoping tubes are made of aluminum but other material may also be used. The size range of the telescoping tubes can vary from 6 inches to 18 inches or more. The telescoping tubes are connected to each other using threaded knobs 100, 130, 110. The threaded knobs 100 and 130 work as locks for universal joints. The universal joints connect to telescoping tubes 116 and 112 of the square frame. A top threaded knob 110 connects the telescoping tubes 116 and 112 with a hollow bolt. This connection is more clearly seen in FIG. 1C. An alternative could be a revolute joint that allows one degree of freedom to allow different angles. In FIG. 1B there are 2 threaded knobs 122, 118 screwed into cone shaped legs 106 with flat bottoms. The flat bottoms are where adhesive tape or chemicals will be used to connect to the top surface of the main vacuum nozzle. The cone shaped legs can fit into three holes and the telescoping tube 104 can expand by 2 button spring openings on each side of the telescoping tube (FIG. 1B and 1C) for a total of 24 combinations for placement. As shown in FIG. 1A and 1B, the threaded knob 120 screws into the opening of the telescoping tube 104 (FIG. 1A) along with the end of the telescoping tube 124. The telescoping tube 124 is connected to the front brush holder 102. The connection is a joint 126 (FIG. 1G) that allows free angular rotation. The front hair brush 128 (FIG. 1D) slides into the brush holder 102.

The telescoping tube 134 (FIG. 1E) is connected to a mop pad holder 108 via a joint 114. In FIG. 1G, a mop pad locker 132 part of the mop pad holder 108 lifts up under spring tension to hold onto microfiber or disposable mop pads.

FIG. 2 shows the universal accessory connected to a vacuum via cone shaped legs 206 (106 in FIG. 1A). The adhesive chemical bond 238 (FIG. 2 ) connects to the vacuum roof nozzle, which allows the vacuum to carry the universal accessory forward to clean the floors. The adhesive chemical is cyanoacrylate or super glue but adhesive tape may also be used.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the universal accessory is carried by the vacuum for floor cleaning and hair trapping. When the user operates the vacuum, the adhesive forces of the super glue 238 transfers force forward to push the front hair brush 228 (124 in FIG. 1A) and pull the mop pad holder 208 (108 in FIG. 1G). The telescoping tubes 134, 116, 112, 104, and 124 in FIG. 1A and the connecting joints transfer the forces to the mop pad holder 108 and the front hair brush 124. Referring back to FIG. 2 , in concert, the front hair brush 228, the vacuum 236, and the mop pad holder 208, provide a sequential function to the floor. The front hair brush traps hair, which prevents the vacuum roller brush from getting stuck by wrapped hair while vacuuming. The vacuum continues to suction large dry dirt, and the back mop pad holder traps fine dust using a wet/dry microfiber or disposable mop pad. The result is a dirt free floor that is cleaner than if the user did vacuum only. The result is also faster if the user chose to vacuum, and then use a wet mop to clean the floor afterwards. The telescoping tubes allow the user to adjust the square frame to accommodate a plurality of vacuums. The cone shaped legs 106 can be placed in different locations to accommodate different vacuum nozzle roof surfaces.

Referring to FIG. 1D, the front hair brush 128 is pushed forward onto the floor by the forces generated by the adhesive chemical bond 238 (FIG. 2 ) when the user pushes the vacuum forward. The front hair brush's 128 material is made of silicone. Silicone allows electrostatic forces to trap floor hair onto the front hair brush 128. An alternative material can be used as well. The extensions or bristles of the front hair brush 128 trap hair mechanically. The trapped hair will no longer get stuck into the vacuum roller brush. This is a common problem among a plurality of vacuums.

Referring to FIG. 1G the mop pad holder 108 is dragged on the floor by the pulling forces generated by the adhesive chemical bond 238 (FIG. 2 ) when the user pushes the vacuum forward. A wet/dry microfiber or a disposable mop pad is wrapped around the mop pad holder 108. The mop pad locker 132 (FIG. 1G) under tension locks the mop pad into place. The user initially lifts the mop pad locker 132 and places the microfiber mop pad under the mop pad locker 132. The mop pad locker 132 has downward pushing force from spring tension. The downward force locks the mop pad in place. The microfiber mop pad is dragged onto the floor and traps fine dust particles either laden with cleaning solution or in dry format.

Once done cleaning, the user can disconnect the universal accessory by unscrewing the two threaded knobs 118, 122 (FIG. 1B) connected to the cone shaped legs. The cone shaped legs 106 stay attached to the vacuum nozzle roof. If the user has more than one vacuum, then another set of cone shaped legs can be used to attach to this other vacuum as well.

According to another embodiment of the universal accessory, the square frame does not exist and only the front part exists. Specifically, referring to FIG. 1A, telescoping tubes 112, 116, 134 do not exist and neither do the corresponding threaded knobs 110, 100, 130, and joints. The mop pad holder 108 and joint 114 do not exist either. Referring back to FIG. 2 , in concert, the front hair brush 228 and the vacuum 236 provide a sequential function to the floor. The front hair brush traps the hair, which prevents the vacuum roller brush from getting stuck by wrapped hair while vacuuming. This reduces the number of times a user has to remove hair from a vacuum roller brush.

According to another embodiment of the universal accessory the front part does not exist, and the square frame of telescoping tubes and mop pad holder only exists. Referring to FIG. 1A, telescoping tube 124, threaded knob 120, front brush holder 102 and the front hair brush 128 no longer exist. Referring to FIG. 2 , in concert, the vacuum 236 and the mop pad holder 208 provide a sequential function to the floor. The vacuum picks up large dust particles and the wet/dry microfiber mop pad wrapped around the mop pad holder picks up fine dust thus enhancing floor cleaning.

Thus the reader will see that at least one embodiment of the universal accessory helps with avoiding hair entanglement in vacuum brush rollers and enhances floor cleaning while attaching to a plurality of vacuums. These enhancements increase user efficiency in cleaning floors, sometimes halving the time necessary to do the same work with a standalone vacuum and wet mop.

While my above description contains many specificities, these should not be as construed as limitations on scope, but rather as an exemplification of several embodiments thereof. Many other variations are possible. For example, the back mop pad holder could be a motorized roller brush with cleaning solution dispensing using spray-like functionality on brush and a recovery tank that collects dirt laden water/cleaning solution using a fan motor for suction. The apparatus would be powered by a lithium ion battery or electric plug. An accelerometer could be used to activate the apparatus. Yet another possibility for the back mop pad holder is to use a regular cotton mop with threads. Another possibility for the vacuum attachment is to use a snap-on vacuum handle attachment instead of adhesive chemical bond to pull the back mop pad holder. Another is a tight noose around the vacuum handle to push and pull the whole universal accessory. Another possibility is to use a claw-like projection under spring tension like a hair clip to clamp the main vacuum nozzle to allow it to be carried by the vacuum. Yet again another possibility is to use a front hair brush that is not made of silicone. The front device could also be a rectangular block with a smooth surface made entirely of silicone to trap hair using electrostatic forces only with slight elevation from floor. Another possibility is to use threaded knobs instead of button spring locks for telescoping tubes.

Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A universal accessory for use to a plurality of vacuum devices enhancing floor cleaning functionality of said vacuum device, comprising: a. a device that touches floor and b. first means for enhancing floor cleaning using said device and c. second means for connecting said device to said vacuum devices by providing a plurality of connectors, whereby enhancing floor cleaning while being carried by said vacuum devices.
 2. The universal accessory in claim 1 wherein said connectors include a plurality of telescoping tubes with a plurality of knob locks for adjustable length, and a plurality of clamping knob locks to allow for locking and detaching when said first means is not needed.
 3. The universal accessory in claim 1 further comprising adhesive tape or adhesive chemical for attaching connectors to said vacuum devices.
 4. The universal accessory in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of cone shaped flat bottom screw in devices for attaching to the plastic roof of said vacuums' nozzles using said adhesive tape or said adhesive chemical while connecting with said connectors using a plurality of threaded knobs.
 5. The universal accessory in claim 1 wherein said device includes a mop pad holder and wet/dry microfiber or disposable mop pads.
 6. The universal accessory in claim 1 wherein said vacuum devices can be an upright vacuum.
 7. The universal accessory in claim 1 wherein said device and said connectors are detachable.
 8. A universal accessory for use to a plurality of vacuum devices to include hair trapping functionality to avoid vacuum roller hair entanglement, comprising: a. a device that touches floor and b. first means for trapping hair on floor using said device and c. second means for connecting said device to said vacuum devices by providing a plurality of connectors, whereby said device will be carried by said vacuum devices and prevent vacuum roller hair entanglement.
 9. The universal accessory in claim 8 wherein said connectors include a plurality of telescoping tubes for adjustable length with a plurality of button spring locks, a plurality of clamping knob locks to lock between connectors detaching said device when said first means is not needed.
 10. The universal accessory in claim 8 further comprising adhesive tape or adhesive chemical for attaching connectors to said vacuum devices.
 11. The universal accessory in claim 8 further comprising a plurality of cone shaped flat bottom screw in devices for attaching to the plastic roof of said vacuums' nozzles using said adhesive tape or said adhesive chemical while connecting with said connectors using a plurality of threaded knobs.
 12. The universal accessory in claim 8 wherein said device includes hair brush to trap hair using bristles and silicone material to use electrostatic forces to trap hair.
 13. The universal accessory in claim 8 wherein said vacuum devices can be an upright vacuum.
 14. The universal accessory in claim 8 wherein said device and said connectors are detachable.
 15. A universal accessory for use to a plurality of vacuum devices enhancing floor cleaning and enabling hair trapping to avoid vacuum roller hair entanglement, comprising: a. a cleaning device that touches floor and b. first means for enhancing floor cleaning using said cleaning device and c. a hair trapping device that touches floor and d. second means for trapping hair on floor using said hair trapping device and e. third means connecting said cleaning device and said hair trapping device to said vacuum devices by providing a plurality of connectors, whereby enhancing floor cleaning and preventing vacuum roller hair entanglement while being carried by said vacuum devices.
 16. The universal accessory in claim 15 further comprising adhesive tape or adhesive chemical for attaching connectors to said vacuum devices.
 17. The universal accessory in claim 15 wherein said connectors include a plurality of telescoping tubes for adjustable length, a plurality of clamping knob locks to lock between connectors and for detaching said cleaning device or said hair trapping device when said first means is not needed.
 18. The universal accessory in claim 15 further comprising a plurality of cone shaped flat bottom screw in devices for attaching to the plastic roof of said vacuums' nozzles using said adhesive tape or said adhesive chemical while connecting with said connectors using a plurality of threaded knobs.
 19. The universal accessory in claim 15 wherein said device includes hair brush made of silicone to trap hair using bristles and electrostatic forces. 